Open Book Theatre Company Adds RED Performance

After opening weekend's overwhelming response from audience and critics alike, Open Book Theatre Company is pleased to announce the addition of one performance on Monday, December 15 at 7pm. With a running time of only 1 hour and 40 minutes Monday's audience can see a great show and still make it home at a decent time to get a good night's sleep before work or school the next morning.

With the extension there are now 4 more chances to see the show that John Quinn of Encore Michigan praised, saying "It's dramatic, it's kinetic - it's art!" Audiences are raving, too. One audience member wrote "Incredible! Loved it! [The] acting [is] superb" and more than one person commented that it inpsired them to go home and create something.

Artistic Director Krista Schafer Ewbank said "We are so proud of this show and we want to be able to share it with as many people as possible. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, this Monday performance is the only one we can add. I hope that people will make the time to come and see this extraordinary play."

Red is the second production in Open Book's inaugural season. The show stars Dennis Kleinsmith as Rothko and Richard Payton as Ken and is directed by Topher Alan Payne with lights by Harley Miah and movement by Kat Walsh. Brandy Joe Plambeck provided the sound design.

Playwright John Logan is a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and producer. In addition to Red's Tony Award for Best Play (2010) Logan has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, Writer's Guild of America Awards and more.

2 Rothko inspired paintings are being auctioned off during the run of Red. Donated through River's Edge Gallery in Wyandotte and painted by local artists Tony Miello and Jeremy Hansen, all proceeds will go to benefit Open Book Theatre Company.

The story of Red focuses on master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko just after he has landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York's famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, Red is a searing portrait of an artist's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Although Red focuses on painter Mark Rothko, it paints with a wide brush and gives us a look into art of all kind. This extraordinary play will have you talking about how artists work, how art is created, what art asks of its audience, and what an audience asks of its art.

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